MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, HAPPY HANUKKAH, ETC., ETC.

Yesterday, as with most Wednesdays, I made my way to Del Mar (YogaDelMar, specifically) for a practice with my Wisdom Warriors friends.

I thought of titling this blog "about long holds", but I think I've used that before -- so, no go on that.  Instead a message to you for the holidays, however you celebrate (or not).

As you now know, we did longer holds yesterday (we also did LONG holds a week ago).  Yesterday's class was Desiree's version of a 'yin' class -- alternating between challenging poses and holds and releasing into a less challenging pose.  How did it go?

Well, right out of the box (like pose #4), we were doing Ustrasana.  One more inbetween pose, then another ustrasana.  The second ustrasana, I - tight back and all - was able to move into Ustrasana (heels up, mind you) placing BOTH hands on the heels simultaneously.  This is quite a feat for me.  What were the 'inbetween' poses?  1.  Use of chair seats to open the thoracic spine.  2.  laying over the chair seat, feet at wall, hands reaching overhead and holding the chair somewhere.

Then, some hip openers and moving into another backbend (kneeling lunge, twisting open, bend knee resting on floor, reaching back to clasp the foot of the leg on the floor).  Wow!!!  (( FYI, usually I will bend forward, grasp foot and move into backbend; NOT this time -- open all the way!!! ))

All in all a great class and a wonderful way to stay 'present' in the practice.

Christmas preparations are taken care of; gifts purchased; the ones mailed that needed mailing; others just waiting to be wrapped.  Looking forward to spending time with family and friends.

Once again, enjoy the holidays. Resist stress (not just yours, but the stress around you -- that can be almost as intense).  Relax, breathe deeply.

Now, on with Thursday!

FEEL, FEEL, FEEL

As I typed the title, repeating the word 'feel' three times, the spelling of the word looked stranger and stranger -- as if, I hadn't spelled it correctly.  I think I did - correct me, if I'm mistaken.

I am thinking of the word, since I had an epiphany while teaching on Tuesday.  I've been using the moniker "gentle is the new advanced" as I teach my gentle classes -- not because they are necessarily more sweat producing that other classes or because I kick-b___ while teaching them -- but, because when asked to move more slowly, to feel the movement and the strength of an appendage or a specific muscle, it is truly amazing AND advanced, in my opinion. Sorry for the long sentence. (Must give credit - this quote is taken/borrowed from a younger instructor who is producing a video with the same name - a very wise young man.)

When I taught on Tuesday, one student remarked that she was pursuing yoga to 'remember her power' (my words, not hers - but, the meaning is the same).  As we moved through the practice, it occurred to me that just noticing the strength and steadiness of the back leg in a high lunge is a starting point to remembering our power.  It is not something we are asked to do much of, either - to notice, that is.

Rather, we move through the poses on the way to an apex without being asked to notice.  That's my epiphany moment.  The next classes I taught on Tuesday were riddled with the same suggestion -- to notice how the body feels, to notice the power of the body - our power, our strength.  Whether we believe we have it or not, it's there.

Yesterday (Wednesday), I once again made the trek to Del Mar to attend Wisdom Warriors.  Almost late, I walked in just before the group began moving - OOPS.  But, I was there and so was Desiree.

Pause here -- just to continue on my gratitude trail.  One major point of gratitude in my life is Desiree Rumbaugh and her efforts to pull us 'over-50's' together each Wednesday.  Desiree has been such a great 'rock' in my life, especially during my settling into a routine in So. Calif.  She has been the memories of times past AND the conduit to staying strong into the future.  She has been a great friend, mentor and teacher.  I could write on, but it would just be a repeat of what has already been said.  And, since I can't express enough gratitude, this would be one VERY long post.  Thank you, Desiree.

Now, back to Wisdom Warriors.  What did we do?  WE NOTICED !!!  Be still my heart.  Desiree asked us to move and to notice the effects of that movement on our bodies and on our abilities to move further and deeper.  WOW!

We created a strong bond with blocks, we moved on to twist, clasp, balance.  I felt good and strong throughout the practice.  A moment of kindness -- a gentle adjustment from Desiree in savasana, in which she complimented me on my conditioning.  Double gratitude.

I felt great the whole drive home.  Even felt good enough to stop at the grocery store, pick up a few needed items and dinner stuff.  Then home.

Feeling ready to teach this morning.  The 2-week cold has passed, Grand-Dude Jack's Birthday party is this weekend (7-years-old).  And, we made some plans to visit our house in Idaho - that always brightens a day.

Hope your Thursday is a good one.

NOVEMBER - THE MONTH OF GRATITUDE

As many know, Facebook has been a constant friend during and since my move from Salt Lake City to Fallbrook, CA.  A conduit, if you will, to the yoga friends I left behind and those I have met on my journey.  It also connects me to family 'friends' and people I enjoyed in high school, etc.

I notice on many Facebook comments expressions of gratitude.  After all, it is November - Thanksgiving month - and it is a good time to express our thankfulness; to be grateful.  Each day, some of my friends will post their daily gratitude; others, I'm sure, are silently doing the same (kind of like those 'selfie' photos we see so many of -- some do, many don't).

I thought I'd take care of expressing my gratitude here.  Using categories, instead of specific things.  First one, the topic for this blog, is my yoga and - to be specific - a few of the teaching(s) I've received and use every day:

• Watch my students; it is not necessary to talk all the time. 
• My hands are my commitment to the pose, they don't move once placed. (That means even my fingers don't lift - commitment.)
• Use expressive language.  (suggestion:  find a thesaurus, keep it handy, use it).
• Leave my mat rolled up (too easy to get on it and stay on it while teaching).
• Without a strong foundation, the pose will not open.
• Everyone has a story, each student a different history. 
• The breath is one of my most powerful tools.
• Tell only MY story. 

I had no specific order when I wrote these; all are valuable.  Some days one will speak out more than the others. 

Lately, while I keep all of these close, the foundation has been primary in my teaching.  Why?  Once set, it makes all else come more easily -- at least that's my take on things (and, obviously, the opinion of the teacher who so wisely shared it with me).  

More to come in future November posts.  And, it's my birthday this month -- in honor of it, I am trying to learn the Beatles' "When I'm 64" on the guitar - a lofty goal.

Hope you have a nice Thursday!

BUSY, SAD 9 DAYS

Since my last post, 9 days ago, much has changed in my life.  I say 'much' because one person has left my life and that person had been present and loving me for 64+ years (if you count the days in the womb) - my Mother.

She was 87, had been ill for the past 2-3 months, and had lived an almost-reclusive life for several years.  I wish these last few years had been different for her, but they weren't -- the result of losing a child (my brother) before his time.

I received the news last Sunday (just a week ago), about this time of morning.  A phone call from the assisted living facility telling me she had passed.  On Monday, I was on a plane to Spokane where I was met by my cousin.  Love my cousin -- he had already taken care of several important things, paving the way for me to do what I needed to do:  finish with arrangements, clean out her apartment, meet with a lawyer, move apartment items to storage or Goodwill, and - finally - celebrate her life with family.  All went smoothly, and my husband, son and I returned to San Diego yesterday (Friday).  So few days to take care of 87 years.

There is still work to be done.  Storage unit to be cleaned out and bequests to be handled.  Certainly not 87 years worth of work, however.

So glad I had been able to visit my Mother 2 weeks ago, if only for a few days.

I am back, getting ready to move back into my routine.  Interesting that as I spent time on FB this morning, I felt much more able to speak out, and much more questioning about the motives of this 'business' we are in -- yoga.  It is, after all, now a 'business' -- witness the maneuverings of YogaGlo (attempting to 'patent' the way they film classes for subscribers).  To me, it represents shooting themselves in the foot.  I also am looking at all the promotions, 'selfies', attempts to promote oneself (including mine).  Wondering if it is really what we ought to be doing, or could it be done differently.

Teaching is what I really want to do, not promote, not film, not post pictures of myself or the words I write in this blog.  Yoga is a valuable tool to wellness - physical and emotional.  I just wish people would come to me for that reason, not because I'm cute (not) and popular (double not).  I wish people would come to my classes because they want to learn about yoga, refine their practice, laugh a bit, enjoy experiencing the wisdom of their bodies -- such good stuff.

The week will bring some new experiences and new classes into my realm.  I'll keep you posted on my website, www.skillfulyoga.com, because it is - after all - a 'business', as much as I don't like the idea.

Hope you have a great and peaceful Sunday,

ONE-MINUTE HOLDS (!?!?!?!)

The title pretty much sums up our Wednesday Wisdom Warriors practice.  Desiree put together a nice series of poses, each to be held for one minute.

Let's be clear here, these were not un-strenuous poses.  She included poses like Warrior I & III, Trichonasana, Parvritta Trichonasana, Supta Virasana, Hanumanasana, and - not to forget - handstand and Urdhva Dhanurasana, plus about 40 others (remember, this is a 2-hour practice).

I have to say that I enjoyed the practice.  As we remained in poses, breathing as deeply as the pose allowed, I could feel my body shifting gradually into a more refined shape of the pose asked for.  My challenge, as always, was the handstand and Urdhva moments.

My goal is to work on both those two latter poses more diligently this year.  I have to admit that I almost had given up on handstand - just figured I will never be able to kick up, let alone hold it for any period of time, so why keep trying (and - be still my ego - embarrassing myself).  However, I just read a blog from the Core Walking website that offers some new ideas to consider (www.corewalking.com).  With new and untried possibilities, I can hardly give up, can I?

Wisdom Warriors is one of the sources of my teaching 'ideas' -- we practice, I then teach a WW practice in Temecula on Thursdays and I use much of the same stuff.  I even use some in my Gentler classes.  For example, in both groups yesterday, we did long holds on the poses.  I didn't have the timer figured ('chakra chimes' app on the iPhone), so we counted breaths, which - interestingly - makes things more manageable for some students.

Not only do I feel the body shift, but yesterday I noticed an interesting correlation - one I hadn't thought of before.  I am always asking students to weight the 4 corners of their feet equally.  It offers stability to their poses, firing muscles in the legs to help support them.  Sometime in the past few days, I read another blog post from the above-mentioned site regarding the affect of pressing through the inner edge of our feet on our inner thighs.  So, as we practiced yesterday, I tried to notice.  In prasarita padottanasana (wide-legged forward fold), if you allow the feet to weight on the outside edge it's pretty comfortable, especially if you are holding for a minute or so.  However, if you distribute the weight through the 4 corners (with just a bit more emphasis on the inner edge), you will feel your inner thighs begin to rev up.  Try it -- but, hold the pose for several breaths, settle into the pose, then try it.  Interesting.  (And, I wasn't the only person noticing it!)

So, another Gentle Class to teach today (Friday), 11:45am at Living Yoga.  And, Saturday -- a treat -- I'll guest teach an 8:45 am class at the MAC yoga studio right here in Fallbrook.  If you are close, stop by; would love to have a nice group.

Hope you all have a great day!

FACEBOOK FUN

Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I have truly appreciated Facebook in the past 2+ years.  When I moved from Salt Lake to Fallbrook, Facebook provided a conduit to the yoga community -- both in Salt Lake and throughout the U.S. (and world).  It has also been a source of awareness for workshops, trainings, etc. -- invaluable for someone like me who LOVES continuing education.

As I was reading the posts on my home page this morning (as I do almost every morning), I was struck by some of the phrasing used by participants.  Since many I have become acquainted with through Facebook, there really is no way I can truly know what they are talking about -- however, I thought it would be fun to interpret some in this blog post.  Plus, list some of the great posts of this morning.  So, here goes:

"GREAT GAME UTES" -- Obviously, this person is from Utah and is a fan of the U. of U. football team.  Not much more needs said.

"Feeling handstands today" -- Well, we can safely say what this yoga instructor (and her students) are in for.

"Wisdom Words:  Deepen your observation, soften your determination" - one of my favorite 'posters', this instructor always has something to say that is smart, a bit radical, and sometimes rebellious.  I will think about this particular quote for a long while.

"Balanced core tone is worth cultivating" - If you are not familiar with this persons blog/website, you probably just said "huh?".  This is a post to draw attention to his blog (The Head in Plank Position blog.corewalking.com  The position of the head in plank can show you a lot about someone's core.)  Interesting and worth the read.

"If you send this bit__ up it can't go down" -  I just said 'huh?'  Her close friends - based on comments - know what she's talking about, I don't.

And, finally --

"CHANCE has his very own WANTED poster" - This post from the group (German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County) from which we adopted Klaus - the senior German Shepherd who LOVES my husband.  He's been with us 2 years now; great dog!

I have come to believe that Facebook, in addition to being a communication tool, is also a venting tool. Some days, we have to say something to someone.  And, perhaps the safest person to say it to is the anonymous Facebook page.  Secretly, however, we hope that the intended recipient of our comments reads (and understands) what we are saying.  Enough on that.

A busy week back to teaching.  Some schedule shifts are happening in the next week or two, so will keep students posted.  Hopefully, these shifts will suit students and - at least - lessen the travel time.

Tomorrow is my son, Derek's, 39th birthday.  Wow!!  His sons, the grand-dudes, also are having birthdays -- Carson in July, Brady on 9/18, and Jack in November.  Busy season for birthdays!

My Mother's health continues to improve, I hope.  She's had a rough couple months (mentioned before), and hopefully she will be back in her apartment soon!

Notice, I do my 'venting' and explaining through this blog.

Hope you all have a good week!

NOTHING ABOUT YOGA (well, maybe just a little)

I started this with the intention of focusing on just our vacation (which is almost over).  I then realized that it's been a LONG time since I've written and a lot has happened yoga-wise; so, the parentheses.

We are on vacation, the longest in a while -- 7 whole days in Idaho.  We / I've done a lot while here -- experienced sunshine and epic thunderstorms (in my realm of thunderstorm memory), taken a good hike, done some wonderful yoga with my friend and mentor - Sundari, spent one day on the Snake River fly fishing, read a book and parts of a couple others, and - now - writing in the blog.

Tomorrow, I head to Spokane to visit family; especially my Mom, who has had a rough couple of months.  Howard will head back to San Diego to relieve our housesitter of 'dog duties'.

This trip to Idaho has proven a bit challenging -- the clothes dryer (or, I should say outlet to the dryer) has malfunctioned, leaving me hanging clothes outside to dry (not such a bad thing); the TV satellite is not working (more of an issue for Howard than for me, but after a few days I have to admit I missed it a bit). And, the BIG news -- moose in the yard!!!  Two, so far -- one, with a huge velvet rack of antlers; the second, younger with a smaller rack.  Very calm and happy to just munch on our volunteer aspens, which is fine with us.  I think this house appeals to them, since there is not much activity -- the caretaker drops in, but for a few months, that's been about it.  One of our neighbors (about .5 mile away) actually had SEVEN in her yard.  Our fishing guide's theory is that the wolves are multiplying and pushing moose, elk, deer, etc., down into the valley.

In case you're not familiar with moose, they can be dangerous.  As I was trimming bushes, I kept a close eye on the trees behind me (where we first spotted them).  What was my escape plan?  To crawl under the deck (with the spiders, other bugs, mice, etc. -- pleasant thought).

We also had a skunk in the yard this morning -- a big fluffy fellow (or girl), who we left well enough alone!  Didn't even take a picture.

As to yoga, I still teach a lot, I still go to Wisdom Warriors as much as possible, and -- the biggest news -- is that I finally met Douglas Brooks.  He and Noah co-taught a 3-day workshop in Los Angeles.  Fun to do some energetic yoga (sweat dripping-kind), and to listen to Dr. Brooks.  Much easier in person than on CD's.

Just arrived home from a nice dinner in Jackson; to find that my iron does not work either -- not that I wanted to do a bunch of ironing on my last day of true vacation, but Howard does need a dress shirt for his travel tomorrow.  Will try another outlet or two, see if it starts up.

Hope you've had a nice Wednesday.  Looking forward to seeing all my friends next week!